“We don’t basically talk about race,” says Marty Swaim, co-founder of Challenge Racism. “It’s the kind of thing where when the subject of race comes up, people leave the meeting. They leave the room. They shut down.” Swaim and Civity Research Director Palma Strand discussed the importance of staying in the room on This is …
Continue reading “Marty Swaim Challenges Racism Through Conversation”
Paul VanDeCarr is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Working Narratives. He has spent much of his career using storytelling to build relationships, make connections, build understanding, and communicate ideas. Paul recently started a podcast called Who Are You in which he reaches across some sort of divide to find commonality with someone who may otherwise be considered …
“There are so many people that just want to be heard. They want to have a voice. They love their communities.” Vivek Patil, director of outreach for the Arlington County Democratic Committee in Virginia, keeps this simple truth in mind. His Civity-based approach to community building has helped him bridge divides with people to find …
Continue reading “Vivek Patil: Bridging Political Divides in a Contentious Election Season”
Conversations can be a first step to understanding another person, finding common ground, and beginning to work toward solutions to community problems. But conversations rarely take place in a vacuum. Vincent Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) SF, told This is Civity Podcast that conversations can be infused with history and often …
Continue reading “Vincent Pan, Giving Marginalized Groups a Seat at the Table”
Liz Joyner, executive director of The Village Square, says the work of collaboration does not begin once there is a problem to be solved. To be successful, that work must begin well before any problems arise, in the simple building of relationships. Joyner tells This is Civity Radio Show that relationships help build empathy and …
Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations, sits down with This is Civity Radio Show to discuss the importance of sitting down with people you disagree with to build empathy and common ground, and to embrace the hard but valuable work of collaborating to make our communities and democracy stronger.
Urban environments such as San Francisco offer many activities, services, and amenities. But if people do not know about them or how to engage, they can feel isolated or cut off. Katy Birnbaum, community organizer for Sunday Streets says Sunday Streets encourages people to be more active, make healthier choices, and take advantage of public …
John Esterle, co-executive director of The Whitman Institute, joins Civity co-founder Malka Kopell to discuss the critical role of philanthropy in support of projects that build relationships to help bridge divides and strengthen communities. Photo by: Cambodia4kids.org Beth Kanter (CC BY 2.0)
Everyday Democracy Executive Director Martha McCoy discusses how we can address issues of privilege, social justice, and equity through Civity-building.
Civity co-founders Malka Kopell and Palma Strand join us to discuss their work, why they decided to create Civity, what they hope to accomplish, and what Civity is working on now.
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